Iowa Man Jumps Into Flooded Waters To Save Drowning Baby Deer

When 911 couldn’t send out help, one man decided to take a dangerous situation into his own hands. When he spotted this baby deer drowning, he knew he couldn’t leave it to die. You won’t believe what lengths he went to save this deer’s life.

20. First Witness

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Karen Leeper was one of the first witnesses to notice a horrific situation. At around 7:00 p.m, Leeper noticed a baby deer struggling to stay afloat down the Cedar River. The situation didn’t look good…

19. A Crowd

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Other people began to notice the situation and crowded around the area. The baby deer looked absolutely helpless as the rough waters continued to carry it around. Witnesses decided to call 911 for help.

18. No Help

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Many witnesses called 911 to ask for help to be dispatched to the area. Unfortunately, everyone refused to head out to help out the poor deer. It was a disheartening situation.

17. Disheartening

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“At first a lot of people were frustrated and sad,” said Leeper, 19 of Waterloo. “It was just really heartbreaking to see the deer float down the stream and (the deer) was helpless.”

16. A Structure

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Eventually, the water had pushed the deer off into a structure where it had gotten caught for a bit. There the deer clung on for dear life as the water continued to gush at it. Finally, someone decided to step up and take matters into his own hands.

15. Local Resident

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A local resident decided that if 911 wouldn’t dispatch a team to help then it was time he took matters into his own hands. The 911 operator had told the witnesses to just leave the deer alone and that it would be pushed to shore eventually, however, that answer wasn’t good enough.

14. Refusal

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The witnesses refused to leave the area and decided that they would help out the brave man that was going to risk his own life to help. Witnesses also noticed that not only was the deer drowning but it was also injured.

13. Improvising

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So the man decided to improvise by using a rope and a life jacket. It took him a few minutes to figure out a plan of action that would work, but once he did he went straight into the water. Everyone was watching and helping however they could.

12. The Rope

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The man jumped into the water and swam over to the deer. Finally, after a bit of hesitation from the terrified deer, he was able to tie the rope around its body. Then it was time for the team effort to come into play.

11. Teamwork

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The man then swam out of the water and made his way back onto the land. From there, he and the others all began to pull the deer out of the water. The team effort made the job easier.

10. Rescued

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Although it was a difficult pull, everyone put together their strength to help get the baby deer out. Eventually, they lifted the deer up to the ground and were able to bring it onto dry land. Everyone was so happy!

9. Community

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According to Leeper, none of the witnesses had known each other before this moment. Everyone had just felt such a strong sense of community as they worked together to help out a helpless animal. It was an inspiring moment.

8. Taking Care

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Everyone continued to gather around the deer in order to take care of it for the time being. They wanted to make sure that it was okay and see if they could help out any of its wounds.

7. Police Arrival

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Eventually, police arrived on the scene to check out the situation. The police stated that the deer would be brought somewhere to be taken care of and then released back into the wild.

6. Good News

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Leeper recalls the entire crowd breaking out into a round of applause once they heard the good news about the deer being taken care of. Everyone was just so proud of their hard work and dedication to the tiny animal.

5. Collective

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“Nobody said it’s just a deer, you should just let nature take its course,” she said. “Nobody knew each other, it was just the community coming together.”

4. Spokesperson

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Even though the community managed to save the life of the baby deer, a spokesperson for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources has advised against this sort of behavior. Mick Klemesrud has stated that Iowa residents shouldn’t be jumping into harsh waters.

3. Risky

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“Floods are an unfortunate fact of nature,” Klemesrud said. “The first thing you should do is not go into flooded water. There’s all kind of risks associated with it.”

2. Nature

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“Don’t put yourself at that risk,” Klemesrud said. “This is one of the things where nature has to take its course because the animal also doesn’t know you’re trying to rescue it.”

1. Hero

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Despite the danger of the situation, these Good Samaritans decided to go out of their way to help out a poor baby deer. Now this deer will be brought back into the woods where it belongs and it will continue to live out its life.